My favourite piece of musical theatre for many years . Various U.K. Productions but this week sees the end of the first U.K. Tour ! Jonny partridge has been ace . It’s raw and honest !

when I left my last parish and embraced the future , art , freedom etc I had a final service !

at the end I lifted my hand to offer gods blessing but instead gave the peace that paseth all understanding. Honesty !

i sang the song I am what I am … then wheeled out of church ! The people who understood me and needed to hear that joined us in the pub afterwards !

words when their are no words ! The institution I love and that ordained me will one day catch up !

Lyrics
I am what I am
I don’t want praise, I don’t want pity
I bang my own drum
Some think it’s noise, I think it’s pretty
And so what if I love each sparkle and each bangle
Why not try to see things from a different angle
Your life is a sham
Till you can shout out
I am what I am
I am what I am
And what I am needs no excuses
I deal my own deck
Sometimes the aces sometimes the deuces
It’s one life and there’s no return and no deposit
One life so it’s time to open up your closet
Life’s not worth a damn till you can shout out
I am what I am
I am what I am
And what I am needs no excuses
I deal my own deck sometimes the aces sometimes the deuces
It’s one life and there’s no return and no deposit
One life so it’s time to open up your closet
Life’s not… Full lyrics on Google Play Music

It’s been a while . Please see the above link to the overhauled web site , with huge thanks to the wonderful Ben and Amanda for getting this and a pile of flyers ready for me to take to greenbelt festival .

my heroes include Steve jobs and Jesus of Nazareth . I wonder how they would have got on . They both started with minimalist teams and massive concepts that herolded global change .

Both loved to retreat , Christ to the mount of olives , or his ever ready chauffeur capatained boat , Steve to a small calm room with silence and occasional sips of diet soda water . Whenever a crowd came Christ would say to his friends , let us go some place else . Retreat in preparation for the what next !

over the last few years I’ve enjoyed working on designing just the perfect , motor home , caravan , and now micro camper in a kangoo to meet my evolving needs as a middle aged paraplegic .

The buzz , the rain fall on the roof , the being anywhere and everywhere yet on the edge of nowhere …. endless possibilities . Silence .

Celebrating life not death
( why a celebration of life without a traditional funeral may be appropriate )
For some people church , ceremony , family tradition and various other reasons make a traditional ceremony in a recognised building the most appropriate way to give thanks for the life of the deceased .

But buildings , ritual , ceremony ( and the connected expenses ) are not for everyone .

I’m paraplegic , and write now with the para Olympics , people , even total strangers keep asking me what my sport is . I don’t have one , I’m not sporty . In the same way not all wheelchair users are para Olympians , I have been pondering recently the concept that not all deaths need result in a funeral .

What then do we do with the body ( I’m sure some nihilists long for yet another coloured bag from the council , in which the dead can be put out on rubbish collection day ) . whoever we are , however our life has gone , their is an energy in life that seems to cry out for celebration within death .

I don’t want to dwell on the financial implications , so let’s just say a direct funeral , where there is no ceremony at the crematorium or anywhere else will cost you roughly half what a ceremonial based funeral will cost . So somewhere downwards approximately of £2000 pounds .
With this the emphasis shifts to celebration and this could take place anywhere or no where , with or without words . Gathered round the juke box in a favourite pub or looking out to sea at a familiar family spot . It may however be a huge deal , a party , a festival , a bike rally or the annual caravan club convention . What it won’t be is conventional , anything but , no somber suits , no uncomfortable behaviour .

As an experienced celebrant I work with you to achieve a celebration of life that resonates deeply with the deceased and their life experiences . Effectively you are employing me for a brief period around the death of your loved one, to manage planning and delivering a celebration of their life, at a time when you may be hurting and energy levels are low . It may also be appropriate that I offer ongoing support through the bereavement process in some instances and we can explore this further .

You may be puzzled as to what happens with the body . Simply put , arrangements will be made for it to be collected from your home by a funeral director , and taken in a simple and dignified way to the crematorium , to be cremated at an undisclosed time slot with no friends or relatives present . The ashes will then be made available to the next of kin to collect .

Again as your celebrant , I will work with you to help you decide the what , when and where to do with the ashes . I can plan an occasion as simple or complex as you like to appropriately and enjoyably scatter or burry these earthly remains . This may happen at the same time as the celebration of the decease ‘s life or possibly on another occasion , weeks , months or even years into the future .

The important thing here is the freedom of choice and the freedom from tradition . My primary role is to be alongside and support you as the next of kin through the journey of bereavement . To help you find words or silence , pictures and music , places and people to gather together into a colourful celebration of all that it has ever meant to have lived .

I charge for my time on a sliding scale depending on your income and we discuss this when we first meet. This will be from the minimum wage upwards and is based on your hourly income and outgoings. It's up to your honesty and this forms part of the process. I am also able to take payment in kind, help with gardening, dog walking, home repairs, driving, the cooking of dinner in exchange for my time,